10 things you need to know today: June 3, 2012

An anti-Mubarak protester asks for the death penalty before the former Egyptian leader was sentenced to life in prison

(Image credit: Luca Sola/CORBIS)

last updated 8 January 2015

1. ASSAD DENIES GOVERNMENT ROLE IN HOULA MASSACRE

Describing the Houla massacre that left more than 100 people dead — many of them children — as an "ugly crime," Syrian President Bashar al-Assad denied that his government forces perpetrated the assault. "What happened in Houla and elsewhere are brutal massacres which even monsters would not have carried out," he said in a televised address to parliament. Assad again blamed "terrorists" supported by foreign powers, for fomenting discord, but eyewitnesses had said pro-government militias had carried out most of the killings. [BBC]

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George Zimmerman's lawyer Mark O'Mara announced on his website that his client had returned to Sanford, Fla., in accordance with an order by a judge in the second-degree murder case, and is prepared to surrender by the deadline set for today. Zimmerman had been freed on bail after he was charged in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, but on Friday the judge revoked Zimmerman's bond, suggesting that he and his wife had not been honest about their finances. [Associated Press]

On Saturday and Sunday, hundreds of Egyptians protested the results of the corruption trial against former President Hosni Mubarak and his aides. While Mubarak and his former interior minister were sentenced to life in prison for complicity in the killing of protesters in last year's uprising, six former police commanders were acquitted, and Mubarak and his sons were cleared of corruption. Egypt's prosecutor-general has lodged appeals against the sentences, state television has reported. [BBC]

T-DM1, a drug that delivers a powerful poison to breast cancer tumors without some of the side effects of traditional treatments, can delay the progression of breast cancer and prolong lives, according to scientists who led the clinical trial. "We've envisioned a world where cancer treatment would kill the cancer and not hurt the patient, And this drug does that," said Kimberly L. Blackwell, a professor of medicine at the Duke Cancer Institute and the lead investigator in the trial. [New York Times]

An Arizona sheriff says five bodies found burned beyond recognition inside the shell of a charred SUV are likely the result of drug cartel violence. The bodies and vehicle were found in the Vekol Valley, a mountainous desert area that's a well-known smuggling corridor for drugs and illegal immigrants headed from Mexico to Phoenix. The bodies were so badly burned that investigators couldn't immediately determine their gender or ethnicity. [Associated Press]

The Senate is expected to begin debate this week on a five-year farm and food aid bill that would save $9.3 billion by ending direct payments to farmers and replacing them with subsidized insurance programs for when the weather turns bad or prices fall. Surprisingly, senators are in rare agreement that fixed annual subsidies of $5 billion a year for farmers are no longer feasible in this age of tight budgets and when farmers in general are enjoying record prosperity. [Associated Press]

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